Night Operation

Running away was no small matter. Especially now, the timing of their departure, the little tricks to delay discovery, whether anyone was waiting outside to receive them, and which route they should take—fleeing through the wilderness or hiding in a bustling city—none of it could go wrong.

Most of the preparations had already been completed by Lin You over the past few years. His main task now was calculating the exact date when Huo Gua had encountered the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in the original story, so he could conveniently send her there.

He had never felt that he needed to seize this younger sister's resources in order to grow. Helping arrange as much support for her as possible was enough. Besides, the two of them had long since reached the Soul Power Level required to obtain Soul Rings. They had refrained from adding Soul Rings all these years solely because they feared Huo Yun'er would meet with disaster after they left.

According to the laws of Soul Power cultivation, even without obtaining a Soul Ring, the Soul Power accumulated through day-to-day cultivation would remain in the body. Once a Soul Ring was obtained, it would erupt all at once, raising the corresponding Soul Power Level.

It was because one possessed Soul Power that one's Soul Power Level could be measured—not because one had a level first and then gained Soul Power.

Originally, Huo Yuhao should only have barely reached Level 10 by this point. Her Innate Soul Power was extremely low, but through the two of them cultivating together, her cultivation speed had nearly doubled. Especially as Lin You's cultivation speed grew faster and faster, the spiritual Soul Power she gained increased as well. By now, it had already surpassed the improvement she could have achieved through cultivating on her own.

Based on Lin You's estimate, the two of them probably had Soul Power Levels of fourteen or fifteen by now.

Judging from the opening date of Shrek Academy in the original story, the school officially opened on February 1. Subtracting the various periods of time—the initial six days spent traveling, the three days waiting at Shrek, the five days spent traveling to Shrek, and the assorted events involving absorbing Soul Rings and meeting Tang Ya and Bei Bei—

Taking everything together, the date he had calculated was almost certainly correct. Around the seventeenth or eighteenth would be a convenient time to run away.

Considering that they could not travel quite so hurriedly, they needed to leave some spare time. He also had to hunt for his own Soul Ring, so they needed to set out two or three days earlier. With that, the date of their escape was settled.

Today was already the thirteenth. The day they would leave was within the next two days.

Inside the woodshed.

Huo Yun'er knitted her delicate brows as she packed their bundles, choosing things that were light and convenient to carry. Originally, her frugal nature had made her want to bring along the pots, bowls, and pans as well. After years of living sparingly, she found it hard to part with them.

But considering that she could not burden the children, and that they were not moving house but fleeing for their lives, she gritted her teeth and left everything behind. After packing some clothes to wear, she was done.

"I wonder when we'll come back again. I hope this place won't be ruined. Sigh~"

Huo Yun'er glanced at the woodshed where she had lived for five years and sighed softly. Then, following Lin You's instructions, she turned a small bucket upside down over the candle inside the room. As Lin You had explained, a candle needed oxygen to keep burning, while hydrogen would gradually drive out the oxygen. After some time, the candle would extinguish on its own, creating the illusion that they had put out the light.

That way, the people monitoring them in the latter half of the night would not notice anything unusual.

Lin You hid at the edge of the woodshed, quietly listening to the guards changing shifts.

"It should be about time. Come on, shall we go take a paid dump?"

"Heh heh, let's go, let's go. I've been sick of this lousy place for ages. In a few days, I'm going to ask the steward to replace me. Staying up every night has nearly driven my wife crazy. Watching them in the first half of the night and sleeping in the second leaves us no time to have a child." The two subordinate guards whispered to each other as they swaggered toward the latrine.

As the sound of their footsteps faded into the distance, Lin You immediately opened his eyes and gestured toward the rear of the woodshed.

The next moment, two furtive figures in black light-absorbing clothes slipped through the shadows toward the side gate.

Since they had known for a long time that they would need to leave this way, even the delicate and weak Huo Yun'er had undergone a certain amount of training to avoid holding them back. Their movements were therefore fairly nimble. As for Huo Yuhao, there was even less to say—her physical condition had already surpassed Lin You's.

Creak.

Lin You had arranged in advance for the patrol officers along their route not to pass by during this period. He had Jin Longsheng and Luo Zhong to thank for that. Their fathers were stewards, one rank higher than ordinary officers. Lin You could not order unfamiliar patrol officers around, but those two had enough influence to distract them with drinks or other means.

The route was completely clear. The preparations they had made over the years had not been in vain. Soon, after pushing open the side gate, the three of them slipped outside.

The instant they left, he headed toward one side of the main road and led a carriage out from the woods. The wheels had shock absorbers, the horse's hooves were wrapped in cloth, and a plum was held between its teeth. He then urged them, "Get in the carriage first. We need to hurry."

As Huo Yun'er left for the final time, she took a deep look at the White Tiger Duke Residence.

Its enormous complex of buildings had been magnificent and dazzling during the day, as though it gathered all the light in the world. It was incomparably luxurious.

But beneath the heavy darkness of night, it now resembled a silent statue, radiating a cold, hard sheen like a tomb.

This was where she had spent the first half of her life. Everything she knew had unfolded within it.

But now, she and her daughter were heading to a new home.

The three of them boarded the carriage and drove toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

The Duke's Mansion and Star Luo City were both located in the north-central region of the Star Luo Empire. In the northern part of the empire lay the Star Dou Great Forest, which bordered the Heaven Dou Empire. That was their destination. Lin You needed to obtain his own Soul Ring, while also taking Yu Chan to the designated location.

"Is everything really all right?" Huo Yuhao sat in the carriage, her face filled with worry.

Wasn't leaving this easily a little too easy?

"I hope nothing happens. Aunt Huo is only an ordinary person, and it would be difficult for her to survive an attack by a soul master. We should hurry away and avoid conflict. That's the best option."

Lin You did not want to fight either. In the end, their Soul Power Levels were still too low, making the risks of battle extraordinarily high. Even he had no absolute confidence.

If a Soul Emperor or Soul Saint suddenly appeared, they could only wash their necks and wait to die.

After all, even if they stayed inside and did not leave, that did not mean they would remain safe forever. Escaping was their only choice, Lin You thought silently.

Given the narrow-minded nature of the White Tiger Duchess, she would absolutely never tolerate Dai Hao recalling his old feelings when he returned. Even if she kept claiming that she was seriously ill, there were so many mouths in the Duke's Mansion. If the servants casually mentioned a few words, Dai Hao would naturally come to see her.

Of course, Lin You also seriously doubted whether the other party had ever possessed anything like old feelings.

".All right, then can we use this carriage, which leaves traces, as bait? We could pretend to leave in the carriage, but actually get off halfway and hide deeper in the woods beside the road?"

Huo Yuhao suddenly made a suggestion. She had plenty of clever ideas, and the woods provided excellent cover. There were also mountain springs and lakes capable of washing away their scent. As long as they successfully hid inside, even the ruler of heaven himself would not be able to catch them.